Hollywood’s got another movie out involving racism

Hollywood versions of watershed moments in American history are generally high-minded shlock. JFK, The People vs. Larry Flynt, even Lincoln: all of these boast excellent performances in scripts that are ultimately very conventional, even conservative. Self-congratulatory soliloquies, for instance, are a mainstay of historical scripts, because actors like speeches and they are good for the Oscar montage. Very little of that happens in Loving, even though the film is definitely Oscar-bait. It tells the story of a man and woman so in love they will defy a racist law to stay together and find their way into a legal system, to see that other interracial couples will be able to do the same. That tale of triumph against adversity makes it feel tailor-made for awards and acclaim. Its poster bears the tagline “All Love Is Created Equal.” And, though no one producing this film knew that this would happen, it is hitting theaters just at a moment when America—especially white America—is desperate to remember something good about itself. Many white Americans, such as Richard, and the couple’s lawyers, get to be unequivocal heroes of this story.